


In the Water, Everything is Purple

by house_of_lantis



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-05
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 04:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/house_of_lantis/pseuds/house_of_lantis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Adam was 13-years old, he met a merman named Kristopher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Water, Everything is Purple

**Author's Note:**

> Written for kradamadness kink meme…and to torture akavertigo.

Musical theatre camp officially _sucked_. 

Adam thought six weeks at the prestigious Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Theatre Camp for Girls and Boys was going to be awesome. He would get to immerse himself in all things theatre and be around people who were into the same kinds of things that he was. He wouldn’t feel like a weird, tall, fat, redheaded drama geek – not to mention that he was _probably_ 75% gay – because everyone at the camp would be like him, too. He dreamed of being in a production of “Phantom of the Opera” and he was kind of hoping that none of the girls would have his vocal range and _maybe_ he got to play the role of Christine, opposite that gorgeous tenor, Todd, who was the only boy that was as tall as Adam (because Adam suddenly had a growth spurt in 7th grade that put him a head taller than everyone in his school). 

Wrong, wrong, wrong, so damn wrong. 

If this was what musical theatre was like, Adam was going to…he was going to study marine biology or something like that! Ugh. Whatever. Seriously, he _hated_ everyone at the camp. He had already called his mom to beg her to let him come home. 

_”Forget it, kiddo, we paid the camp fees and there’s no refund. You’re stuck there. Deal with it,” his mom told him._

_“That’s so—so ruthless!” He complained, bitter and tired._

_“It’s called life, Adam. Just because something doesn’t go your way, you can’t expect me to bail you out of it. This is your first time away from home. If you open up, they’ll learn to love you as much as your friends do here.”_

_Adam sighed and rolled his eyes, biting the meaty part of his hand so that he wouldn’t end up crying. “Fine.”_

Three weeks in, nothing had changed. He tried to get along with the girls, but aside from talking about make up and fashion, he wasn’t really interested in hearing about their teenage _girl_ angst. He had enough angst of his own to deal with. He tried to get along with the boys, but they were so… _short_ and dramatic and…ugh, seriously, whoever said that theatre kids weren’t cliquey bullies, they obviously never went to musical theatre camp! 

He started going on long walks. If anything, he was going to lose weight and go back to San Diego and start 8th grade with some self-confidence and maybe even a makeover. He hated his red hair. He wished it was another color – something dark and mysterious. For his birthday, Neil gave him a _Hello, Kitty_ make up kit as a gag gift, but Adam kind of loved that stupid thing and he experimented with his make up, learned how to line his eyes from Danielle (he was so good at it now that she was asking him to do her eyes), and he was still trying to figure out how to use blush properly. 

_”You look like an underage hooker – unless that was the look you were going for, which, uh, honestly, don’t,” Danielle told him, rubbing the pink mess from his face. “Pink is not your color.”_

_Adam rolled his eyes. “But my hair is red. I should be able to wear pink.”_

_“Yeah, no,” she said, sternly. “You cannot wear pink, it totally clashes. If you really want to wear blush, you’re going to have to go with a subtle earthy tone.”_

Anyway… 

There was a ramshackle low pier at the other side of the lake. He’d take his walkman and his lyric journal (don’t call it a _diary_ , Neil, you little turd), and hang out at the end of the pier. No one ever went there – they were theatre kids, they didn’t really do much outdoors – so he knew he could hang out there and not be bothered. Not that anyone really bothered him; it was their _indifference_ that was killing him; their lack of real excitement; that way that they made fun of him because he was “so into” theatre. 

He got on his stomach, popped his headphones in, and blasted _Queen_ into his brain. He tucked his chin on top of his hands and stared out at the water, clean and dark and shimmery. It really was beautiful out there. Nothing like the beaches in San Diego, but there was something so calm and…kind of like from a dream. He saw the water ripple and wave, and smiled to himself thinking it would be kind of cool if a dolphin popped up from the water and started to _communicate_ with him. Because in all of his fantasies, of course he’d be a friend to dolphins and he’d be able to speak their language. _Duh. Who didn’t have that same fantasy anyway?_

Instead, a head of a boy his age popped up from the waters in front of him. Adam screamed, the sound of his shrill voice echoing across the water. He scrambled up to his knees, pulling the earphones out and staring at the boy. 

“Christ, you scared me,” he said, looking at the boy with the wet brown hair and big brown eyes. He was actually kind of cute, even with his hair plastered against his forehead and cheeks. Drops of water clung to the ends of his thick eyelashes and Adam was really jealous of the fact that the boy’s skin was perfect. It was unfair, really. 

The boy gave him a friendly smile, raising his eyebrow. “You scream like a girl. My cousins would’ve thought it was hilarious.” 

Adam rolled his eyes and sat down with his legs crossed in front of him, looking at the boy. “Are you a local?” 

“You could say that,” the boy said, shrugging his shoulder, his arms moving through the waters to keep him steady. 

“I’m Adam,” he said, smiling at him. “I’m here for the camp.” 

The boy rolled his eyes. “I know that. We can hear all of you singing all throughout the summer months.” 

“Are you going to tell me your name?” 

The boy looked a little…confused? “I’m…you can call me Kristopher.” 

“Ohh-kay,” he drawled, curling his lips together and raising both of his eyebrows at the weird guy. “So Kristopher…Kris?” The boy nodded his acceptance of the nickname with a wide smile. “What do you do for fun around here?” 

“Swim a lot, catch fish, tease the frogs, throw starfish at the eels,” the boys said, guilelessly. “Sometimes, I’ll go out to the ocean and swim for warmer waters.” 

Wow. The guy sure liked the water. 

“Do you swim?” 

Adam snorted, shaking his head. “Yeah, not really.” 

Kristopher frowned, sinking lower into the water. “That’s too bad.” 

“Hey! We can still hang out, you know,” he insisted, not wanting to lose a friend. “Come on, we can have fun. You want to sneak into my room and hang out?” 

“I can’t,” he said, giving Adam a sad look. “I’m not allowed…yet.” 

Adam nodded, trying to understand. “Yeah. I don’t blame you. You don’t even know me and I’m inviting you to my room. It’s like a really bad line from every summer camp horror movie, right?” 

Kristopher cocked his head and gave him a small smile. “I can meet you here tomorrow. At the same time. We can…hang out.” 

“Yeah, that’s cool,” he said, trying to be cool and not hyper excited. He cleared his throat and gave him a smile. “Look, I better head back to the camp. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” 

“Of course,” he said, nodding at him. 

“Okay, well,” he paused, shaking his head. “Have a safe swim back to…uh…your home.” 

“Thank you,” Kris said, politely. He gave Adam one last smile and literally sank underwater, disappearing into the dark depths. 

Adam watched for a long time, wondering where he went. “Huh.” 

Really, really, really damn strange. 

*** 

“It just annoys me because they don’t get it,” he groused, rolling his eyes. “I sing better than everyone here. I could have a career in music, you know, I could make a name for myself. It’s just that…” 

“Then why don’t you?” Kris said, bobbling in the water, looking up at him. 

Adam sighed, looking at the old wood of the pier. “Because I’m not…I’m not ‘normal,’ I guess.” 

“Why’s that? You look pretty normal to me.” 

Adam smiled, looking at Kris. It warmed his heart that Kris believed in him. “Thanks.” He fell on his back, tucking his hands under his head, looking up at the skies. “I guess I don’t really belong in the usual categories. I’m different, my voice is different, and I don’t want to just fit in, you know?” 

He heard Kris prop his arms on the edge of the pier, pulling himself up a little to peer at Adam. “You don’t have to fit in. It’s better if you don’t fit in. Then you just disappear with everything else.” Adam turned his head to look at Kris. “I’m not like the others in my family. I like coming here and talking to you. I have…dreams.” 

“What kind of dreams?” He said, curling up on his side, keeping his head propped against his arm. “Tell me.” 

Kris smiled, looking at him. “My dream is to be free; to go out to the waters and swim in every ocean and every sea and every lake in the world. I want to explore in the deepest depths of the waters, where everything is so deep and dark that it looks…purple.” 

Adam chuckled, reaching out to grab Kris’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “That’s a cool dream, Kris.” 

“Well, for now, I’m stuck here…until I’m old enough to travel on my own.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

“Tell me your dreams, Adam.” 

He closed his eyes and rolled on his back again. “I dream about being on a stage, lights everywhere, my band and gorgeous dancers around me. And there are thousands of people screaming my name and the sound is so loud that I get carried away. And when I sing, people listen to my voice and they sing with me.” He looked at Kris. “That’s what I dream about. I guess it’s kind of stupid that I want to be a rock star.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Everyone wants to be a rock star.” 

“I don’t want to be a rock star,” Kris said, smiling at him. “Your dream sounds incredible. I would be too shy to be in front of people like that.” He reached out and stroked Adam’s hair. “You can sing for me.” 

Adam sat up, turning to face Kris. 

_Outside I’m masquerading  
Inside my hope is fading  
Just a clown ohhh yeah since you put me down  
My smile is my make up  
I wear since my break up with you_

_Baby, take a good look at my face  
You’ll see my smile looks out of place  
Yeah, just look closer it’s easy to trace  
The tracks of my tears_

He looked to see Kris swaying in the water with his eyes closed. Adam smiled, leaning over the edge of the pier to look down at him. 

“Did you like it?” 

“It was beautiful,” Kris said, opening his eyes to grin up at him. 

“Why don’t you come out of the water? We could go sit on the beach or something,” he said, moving up to his knees. He held out his hand for Kris. “Come on. I’d really like it if we could—“ 

Kris sank lower into the water until just his eyes and his nose were visible. Adam didn’t know why he was always so skittish about coming out of the water. 

With a heavy sigh, Adam pulled his hand away. “If there’s…you know I’d never judge you or anything…I mean, if you had scars or something…on your legs?” 

Kris blew bubbles in the water, his head rising slightly. “I really want to, Adam, but I just can’t yet.” 

“What does that mean?” He said, frowning slightly. “I’m leaving in a few more days and…I want to take you to see a movie in town, maybe go have lunch somewhere…you know…hang out?” 

_Date!_ Adam spent a few personal nights daydreaming about holding Kris’s hand in a movie theatre or making out with him on the grass. But it was kind of hard to do any of that when Kris never left the water. 

“I’m sorry,” Kris said, sinking lower into the water. 

“Wait, Kris!” 

“Sorry, I have to go.” 

Adam watched as he went under, holding Kris’s gaze until he couldn’t see Kris anymore. He sat back on the pier and rubbed at his eyes and pulled at his hair. _This was so frustrating!_

He heard a loud splash and turned his head to see something dip under again, the water rippling outwards until they faded away. 

*** 

The only thing that made the last weeks of musical theatre camp bearable was hanging out with Kris on the pier. He was surprised that no one remarked on Adam missing workshops or skipping out after meals to go hang out at the lake. Another thing about music and theatre kids was that they were all pretty self-involved and Adam was more than happy to be a blip under the radar so he could spend all of his time with Kris. 

_This was the last day._

He was really sad to leave and he wanted to get Kris’s e-mail address so that they could stay in touch. He walked along the edge of the lake towards the pier and was surprised to see Kris in the water with a girl with long blonde hair. Adam swallowed his jealousy and walked along the pier quietly, watching the two of them bobbing in the water. 

“—can’t be here,” she said, touching Kris’s face. “This isn’t ever going to work out.” 

“But I like him,” he said, softly. 

Adam clutched his lyric journal to his chest, his cheeks flushed. _Yes! Kris liked him!_

“But he’s not one of us.” 

Adam frowned at that. He wasn’t a local so she didn’t approve? 

Kris sighed, shrugging. “That doesn’t matter to me. I know he’s the one.” 

_The one! Adam was the one!_

He cleared his throat. “Hi.” 

The girl startled, her blue eyes widening as she stared up at him for just a moment before sinking underwater and…wow, they really were strong swimmers. 

Kris grinned at him, a blush on his cheeks. “How much did you hear?” 

“Enough,” he said, sitting down and dangling his feet off the pier. “I like you a lot, too, you know.” He set his lyric book on the pier. “Who was your friend?” 

“That was…Katherine,” he said, shrugging. “She’s my cousin…and she doesn’t like it that I’ve been coming here and…hanging out.” 

Adam nodded, making a face. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning.” 

“I know.” 

“Can’t you come out and just sit with me here?” He said, patting the empty place on the pier. 

Kris curled his bottom lip over his top lip. “Come into the water. With me.” 

“I can’t swim,” he admitted, softly. 

Kris held out his hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Please. Adam.” 

He took a deep breath. “Okay. Let me just…” 

He got to his feet and shucked out of his long shorts and his tee-shirt, pulled his feet out of his flippers, and sat back down on the edge of the pier again. Kris came closer to him, holding his hands out for Adam and nodding encouragingly. Adam took a deep breath and dipped both of his feet into the water and gingerly lowered himself down until he was hanging on the edge of the pier with his hands. 

He jumped when he felt Kris’s hands on his hips. 

“It’s okay,” Kris whispered, hands tugging him away from the pier. “Turn around and hold on to my shoulders.” 

Adam dropped one hand and placed it on Kris’s shoulder, hand curling tight over the lean muscle. He took a deep breath and let go of his other hand, gripping Kris tightly. “Oh God!” 

Kris chuckled, pulling them a little further from the pier. Adam didn’t know what to do with his legs, afraid that he was going to drag them both down to the bottom of the lake if he didn’t do something. So he started to scissor and kick out with his legs and—

“There’s something there!” Adam said, his eyes widening. “My foot touched something! I think it was the Loch Ness monster! Or a really big lake snake!” 

Kris sighed, his smiling trembling. “You…you kicked my tail.” 

“I—what?” 

“Put your hands on my waist,” Kris said, his voice small and shy. 

Adam lowered one hand from his shoulder, sliding his palm down Kris’s soft skin, palming his slender waist, his fingers brushing against…scales? 

“What…what…” 

“I’m, uh, I’m a merman.” 

Adam blinked. And blinked. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. His fingers moved lower, tracing the area where human skin melted into something that felt like thick, flexible sequins. 

“You’re a merman?” 

Kris nodded, not meeting his eyes. 

“And…you have a tail?” 

Kris swished his tail against Adam’s legs. It kind of freaked him out and Adam struggled a little, kicking out with his feet. 

**“YOU HAVE A TAIL!”**

“Tell the whole town, won’t you?” Kris mumbled, a little crossly. “Look, you can go back on the pier. I mean, if you think I’m some kind of lake snake or Loch monster or whatever. I’m not ashamed of who I am!” 

“No, no!” Adam said, wrapping his arms and legs around Kris tightly. It was so…weird to feel Kris’s merman tail body against his legs. “I’m sorry! I don’t think you’re a snake or a monster! I’m sorry! I think you’re beautiful! Please don’t be mad at me! I was just really shocked and I sometimes forget that diversity is beautiful and we have to be more accepting of each other’s differences and not be judgey or whatever and—“ 

“Okay, okay,” Kris said, chuckling a little. He patted Adam’s back gently. 

Adam closed his eyes, hugging Kris tightly, and let out a sigh. _His boyfriend was a merman._

“How is this even possible? How are you even real?” Adam said, lifting his head and looking at Kris’s eyes. “You’re like a myth or a legend or something.” 

Kris just shrugged one shoulder. “We stay in the depths?” 

“We? Ohmygod, there’s more of you?” Adam said, his eyes widening. “That girl, she’s a merman—mermaid, too, right?” 

“Yes,” he said, nodding. “There aren’t many colonies and most of us stay away from the surface.” 

“But you’re here.” 

Kris smiled, his hands stroking down Adam’s back. “I heard you singing.” 

Adam chuckled. “Does that make me a siren?” 

Kris made a face. “I hope not. Sirens are ugly and mean-spirited water hogs.” 

He snorted, pressing his forehead against Kris’s shoulder. “Kris…ohmygod…I wish I could see you…all of you…” 

“I can’t leave the water yet,” he said, shrugging. “I’m too young.” 

“How old do you have to be to leave the water?” 

“Twenty shifts of the earth.” 

Adam sighed. “Okay, yeah, that’s not helpful.” 

“I’m thirteen shifts.” 

“Is that like…years or something?” 

Kris made a face and shrugged. 

“Okay, nevermind, so…seven more shifts. Yeah. Okay.” 

“I’ve returned to this lake every summer for four shifts.” 

“So maybe next year…next summer shift…you’ll be here?” 

Kris grinned at him. “Will you come back?” 

“Yeah.” Adam bit his lip and touched Kris’s face. “You’re my merman boyfriend now.” 

Kris’s grin became so wide and it took up half his face. He was so adorable. Adam leaned down and pressed his lips against Kris’s smiling mouth, both of them gasping a little. He pulled away to see Kris staring at him, licking at his lips. Adam tilted his head and kissed him again, this time, using his tongue to slip into Kris’s opened mouth. He licked against Kris’s tongue and pulled away because Kris started to giggle, blushing across his face and ears. 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s a kiss,” he said, smiling at Kris. “It’s what boyfriends do.” 

“Oh.” Kris leaned towards Adam and pressed his parted lips against Adam’s mouth. 

Adam wasn’t sure if he was even a good kisser, but he nipped and licked Kris’s plump lips and sucked and kissed him, curling his arms around Kris’s neck, hands stroking him everywhere, and his legs curling and twisting against Kris’s tail. It was kind of sexy to feel Kris’s muscular tail moving with him, the scales felt like the best loofa sponge on his skin. He sighed and looked at Kris, happy and content and blissed out. 

So okay, his life was like that old Tom Hanks movie “Splash” with the mermaid, except Adam had a merman. And you know, he didn’t care one bit. He had a boyfriend who thought he was the one and who liked kissing him and hanging out with him. So what if he had to wait seven more shifts until Kris could leave the water. Some things were worth the wait. 

*** 

**1 YEAR LATER**

“Mom!” Adam called, running into the house. It was the last day of school and Adam was looking forward to spending his summer with Kris. “Did you sign me up for the Webber musical camp again?” 

His mom pulled down her glasses and gave him a look. “Honey, I thought I told you—it must’ve slipped my mind—but the camp is closed.” 

“What?” Adam said, glaring at her. “WHAT!” 

“Sweetie, don’t be so overly dramatic. I’m sure we can find another camp for—“ 

“Why is the camp closed? Is it closed for the summer or is it closed closed?” 

“A real estate developer put in a bid and they’re going to build a huge lakeside resort.” 

“OHMYGOD! Mom! They can’t do that! I have to go back to that lake!” 

She nodded, looking through her decorating sample books. “Yes, I understand you want to go to camp. I’ll find one—“ 

“No, mom, I have to go back to that lake! I promised I’d go back! There’s—he’s—“ 

_Kris was waiting for him!_

His mom turned and looked at him. “Adam, what is it?” 

Adam stared at her. He couldn’t tell her why he had to go back. He made a promise to Kris that he’d always come back, every summer, so that they could be together at the lake until it was time for Kris to come out of the water. He sniffed, feeling his throat tighten and close, his eyes watering. 

“Oh honey,” she said, getting up and giving him a warm hug. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt this way about the camp.” 

He let her comfort him, closing his eyes. What will Kris think when he doesn’t show up? Will he think that Adam forgot about him? That he abandoned Kris? It wasn’t fair! How could this happen? And how was he ever going to see Kris again? 

***

**15 YEARS LATER**

 

“And your next American Idol is…Danny Gokey!”

*** 

Adam appreciated irony; and revenge was a dish best served cold. 

Even after losing to that…Danny, Adam skyrocketed up the charts with his debut album and the reviews coming in for his sophomore album began with “sound of the decade” and “virtuoso vocal work” and “incomparable.” High praise, indeed. 

But Adam was smart enough to know that the entertainment industry could stop and turn on a pinhead, where one bad review could dogpile into something really nasty and career ending ( _see_ Danny Gokey’s post-Idol career – haha – Adam really shouldn’t mock, it was bad for his karma, but _come on_ , Adam totally had every reason to mock Danny for weeks of endless preaching and judging and douchebagging). 

Jim Cantiello at MTV was probably Adam’s favorite person ever. And if Jim weren’t straight and married, Adam might be motivated by Jim’s fanboying and squeeing to actually make a move on him. He thought it was hilarious when Jim tweeted a picture of himself with “Adam” written on his arm like a tattoo. 

He got in the black SUV in front of the Z100 Station building and leaned back against the seat, tired from doing his rounds of press and media in NYC. He was looking forward to going back to the W hotel and just crashing for a couple of hours before figuring out what to have for dinner. As the vehicle moved into afternoon traffic, Adam looked out the window to see a very pretty boy with fluffy brown hair wearing the ugliest plaid shirt standing on the sidewalk, hands tucked into his pockets, smiling warmly at him. It wasn’t the “OMG you’re Adam Lambert” kind of smile, but “hey, I know our secret” kind of smile. Adam turned his head, looking at the boy as the SUV sped up. 

“Hey! Can you stop for a minute,” he said to the driver. 

“Sure, Mr Lambert.” 

The SUV pulled alongside the line of parked cars so Adam could open the door and step out. He got on the footwell of the SUV and stood up, looking over the heads of people to see if he could get a better look at the brown haired boy. But he was gone. Adam frowned, scanning the crowd, ducking back into the SUV when people started to notice him, camera phones going into the air, pointed at him. 

“Nevermind,” Adam said, sighing. “I’m ready to go to the hotel now.” 

It was so _weird_. It was like Adam knew him, but where on earth did Adam see him before? Ever since his music career started, it was nonstop touring and interviews and meet-and-greets and parties. He’d met so many people – so many pretty boys – and Adam couldn’t place where he could’ve met that boy on the sidewalk. 

*** 

Adam dreamed of water, endlessly deep water that was purple and turquoise and emerald. It was warm and clean and beautiful. He swam as if he could breathe in water, never struggling for air, never afraid that he was so deep in the water. 

And sometimes, a hand would reach for his, strong fingers curling around his, pulling him even deeper into the water, so deep and so endless. 

And sometimes, if he stayed in his dream long enough, he’d glimpse the profile of a boy’s face, eyes crinkled, wide smile on his lips, long brown hair flowing around his head, gently waving in the depths. 

Sometimes, Adam dreamed of the boy turning to smile at him…but he could never remember what the boy looked like when he awoke.


End file.
